Page 13 of Off the Post

It feels good.

So good, in fact, that I shove my hands under my armpits to avoid any further touches, hoping she’ll take note of my nonverbal cues and leave. I nod brusquely toward the inflatable at our feet and fix her with a resolute stare.

“I’m not getting in that thing if that’s what you think.”

Ali’s laughter is like champagne bubbles. Light, sparkling, and fucking delicious.

When was the last time a woman’s laugh made me want to smile?

I. Don’t. Smile.

She waves a hand at the object and shakes her head dismissively. “Oh my gosh, no. That, my friend”—she eyes me with an expressive lift of her brows and jabs a finger toward the duck—“is for Tanner. By request, I might add.”

I glance around the studio in search of my teammate but don’t see him loitering around or getting primped and powdered.

“Where is Rossy?”

That’s when I hear his signature loud—irritatingly loud—laughter from somewhere in the building. Ali offers a knowing smile, clutching her iPad against her chest with crossed arms.

“Tanner has expressly requested to pose for the July pool party scene. Complete with an oversized inflatable duck ring, a grill, and giant hot dog props. Is there any other scene that screams Tanner Rossco as much?”

I try to stifle my chuckle. “We’d expect nothing less from the oversized kid. I can’t imagine what he was like when he was an actual child.”

Ali responds with something that sounds like He was much worse, but she turns away from me just as the man in question bounds toward us so I can’t hear her over Rossy’s thunder.

Unlike some of my other, more reserved teammates, Rossy is a man who takes up all the space in a room. Literally and figuratively.

When he steps up next to Ali, Rossy throws an arm around her shoulders and tucks her into his side, placing a loud, wet kiss on her forehead.

“There you are, Ali-kins.” He beams down at her with something that looks like love and then swings his gaze to mine. “Hey, Wolf. I see you’ve met my Ali. Isn’t she the best?”

I stare at the two of them grinning at each other with familiarity and try to parse out the nature of their relationship.

Tanner doesn’t do girlfriends, and I can’t imagine Ali is just a hookup. But they clearly give off a vibe that suggests love, an intimacy with each other, and even mutual respect.

Whatever it is between the two of them is none of my business.

My only business today is getting through this photoshoot, making sure Anna, Heinrich, and Clara get here without incident, and treating them to a good evening out together.

Outside of that, I need to put away this inexplicable attraction I seem to have to Ali, because it’s clear she’s with Tanner.

And I don’t need any distractions when my family arrives.

7

Ali

Soren’s photos didn’t do him justice. And his silky voice with the slight accent that I encountered last night did leave a lasting impression, the sound burying itself deep into my marrow, but still.

But nothing prepared me for meeting him in real life, up close and personal. The man is a living, breathing, walking billboard for hot, grumpy loner. He’s the type of guy mothers warn their daughters about.

Everything about him says to back off, stay away, don’t get close or you’ll get snared in his trap.

If Soren thinks this grumpy-boy vibe will turn people off, he obviously hasn’t seen himself in the mirror when he does it. Don’t ask me why, but the signals Soren sends out only make the allure and magnetism that much stronger, and I’m too weak to resist that pull.

Then the strangest thing occurred in my belly—like hope springing free from a well—when I dropped the pool duck at his feet and Soren nearly cracked a smile during our brief conversation. There was just a flash of something. A teeny, tiny bit of amusement.

But then almost immediately, it disappeared as if a switch flipped. Soren’s demeanor changed, turning cold when Tanner joined us and threw an arm around my shoulder. Soren’s brows pinched together and his eyes grew dark, his expression intense. Which was strange to see, considering they are supposedly good friends.